


alone he cries

by dorypop



Series: fifteen years later [3]
Category: Raven Cycle - Maggie Stiefvater
Genre: Doctor Adam Parrish, Farmer Ronan Lynch, Foster Care, Future Fic, Gen, Kid Fic, M/M, Mentions of Christmas, POV Adam Parrish, Selectively Mute Original Character, adam and ronan are learning how to be parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-08-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26025139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dorypop/pseuds/dorypop
Summary: Harvey spends the evening at a classmate's. Adam and Ronan freak out.
Relationships: Ronan Lynch & Adam Parrish & Original Character(s), Ronan Lynch/Adam Parrish
Series: fifteen years later [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1867762
Comments: 34
Kudos: 151





	alone he cries

**Author's Note:**

> Previously on this AU: Adam and Ronan have been fostering a 12-year-old named Harvey for a few months. You can read how that happened in [_the mirror I stare into_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/24931516).

“I’m home!”

Only Chainsaw came to welcome Adam, so he took his chance and doubled back to the car to take out the bulky packages he then managed to fit into the top cabinet in the mudroom. In Adam’s opinion, hiding Christmas presents was the worst part of celebrating Christmas. He of course was perfectly aware it was a completely different thing, but it still reminded him to when he used to hide his stuff from his parents in his old room at the trailer—he just couldn’t help the pang of anxiety that attacked his stomach when he closed the cabinet door and realized he’d actually picked the most obvious hiding place in the whole house.

So he took a step back, and a deep breath, because _nothing_ would really happen if Ronan or Harvey found their presents before Christmas. It wouldn’t be such a big surprise, but that was it.

He took his shoes off. Chainsaw perched herself on Adam’s shoulder, and he petted her head in thanks for her support.

“Hi there. Where’s everyone else?” he asked her, checking the living room and the kitchen before he heard the upstairs shower start. “One down, one to go.” Chainsaw couldn’t stay still for long, so she screeched and flew away.

Adam’s knocks on Harvey’s room went unanswered. He checked his phone and found that Harvey hadn’t answered his last text, sent at lunch time, asking him how was his gluten-free pasta salad sitting with his stomach.

Adam took his pants off before sitting on his bed.

“You smell like puke,” Ronan said when he came into the room, still dripping wet because he couldn’t be bothered with a towel. From the fact that he didn’t even look at the open bedroom door, Adam inferred Harvey wasn’t home.

“I got puked on this morning. Don’t worry, I left my shoes next to your covered-in-cow-shit boots. They’re probably bonding over their fetid fate.”

Ronan bent down to kiss Adam.

“And why’s it that our footwear is getting it on more than we are?”

“Where’s Harvey?” Adam asked, not because he didn’t want to keep kissing Ronan, but because he knew he wouldn’t be physically able to relax until he made sure everything was in order. He was of course confident Ronan wouldn’t be parading around his beautiful, naked body if something had been wrong, but it didn’t hurt to check.

Or it did, because Ronan sighed and turned around to start rummaging in his drawers, presumably searching for clean underwear.

“Got a school project. Texted me earlier, said he’d take the bus with this classmate of his—Amina? You know her?” Adam shook his head, because he’d tried to get Harvey to tell them about his friends and what he did at school, the most he always got were short reports on the academic part of his classes. Which, yes, he was grateful for, and he honestly wanted to know if he found Algebra too difficult or if they had covered nuclear fusion on the Science curriculum yet, but he’d also like to know who his friends were. Or, more likely, _if_ he had any friends.

“What’s the project about?” Adam started unbuttoning his shirt, wrinkling his nose when he caught its smell because, yes, the puke essence was still there. He’d probably caused a lovely impression on the mall lady who’d wrapped his presents up.

“Some Geology fuckery. Dunno, he’s told me about it, it’s just weird. They have to research rocks or some stuff. It’s also supposed to be an oral presentation, so I hope this Amina girl is cool or they’re both fucked.” Ronan put his boxers on, and rummaged a bit more until he found his pajama bottoms.

“Do I get to pick him up when he’s done?” he asked. He needed a shower, but he supposed he could put normal clothes back on, if Ronan was already ready to wear his pajamas.

“Oh, no, don’t worry. Harvey said Amina’s parents would give him a ride. Apparently the girl’s a bit insistent. Maybe she likes him?” Ronan turned around and raised his eyebrows. “Fuck. Should we be giving him the talk? Like, already? Isn’t twelve a bit early?”

Adam shrugged.

“I was eleven when my dad told me not to get any chick pregnant if her parents weren’t loaded.”

Ronan came to stand between Adam’s legs. “Yeah, no, we’re not taking _your dad_ as a role model for anything, fuck you.” He bent over to kiss Adam’s forehead.

“ _I meant_ I don’t know if it’s too early.” Adam laced his arms around Ronan’s neck. “Maybe we should talk to him either way. I’m actually worried he’s not socializing much.”

“Well, okay, but if it comes to it you’re in charge of telling him about the birds and the bees.”

“And why’s that?”

Ronan disentangled himself.

“Because you’re a doctor,” he said, like it was obvious. “ _And_ because I don’t know shit about how girls work down there.”

“I could lend you my anatomy books, if you’re interested.”

“Yeah, I’ll pass. But if you take a damn shower and come back smelling nicely I might be interested in what _you_ have down there.”

So Adam showered, and apparently Ronan _was_ interested because he joined him halfway, and afterwards they laid tangled in bed while Adam told Ronan all about the little girl who had puked on him first thing in the morning.

Adam texted Harvey when they were sitting down for dinner, but his previous message was still unread. He thought about calling him, if only to make sure Harvey was well enough to pick up, even if he didn’t speak.

“Do you have Amina’s landline number?” he asked, as Ronan loaded his plate with rice.

“Do I look like a phone book?”

“Where does she live? Maybe they don’t have signal there.”

“I don’t know, probably on the bus route.” Ronan filled a glass with water and sat in front of him. It pissed Adam off.

“Why are you so calm about this?” he asked. Then, an idea occurred to him. “Has Harvey texted you?” Perhaps Ronan was not worried because he knew more than Adam did. He did spend more time with Harvey than Adam, especially since Adam had gone back to work after his month-long leave. They bonded over their mutual dislike of teachers and figures of authority in general. All Adam had to bond with Harvey was his careful planning of Harvey’s diet after they’d found him to be gluten intolerant, and Ronan had also been heavily involved with that, seeing as he was the one who normally prepared their meals. Besides, Ronan was _Ronan_ , while Adam was still _Dr. Parrish_. That surely meant something.

Ronan’s narrowed look gave Adam the impression that he could follow where his thoughts were going and didn’t like it one bit. “Well, not since this morning, but it’s probably fine. He’ll reach to us if he needs us—he’s probably having a good time so he’s forgotten all about us old people.”

Adam shook his head. “Are you sure he’ll reach to us, though?”

“I fucking hope so, Parrish! If you _please_ stop freaking out, can we maybe have dinner before you file the missing people report? He _said_ he’d come home late—he’s probably having dinner himself at Amina’s house and I bet her parents are those kind of people who don’t allow phones on the table.”

“If he’s not allowed a phone, how’s he going to speak?”

Ronan’s fork clattered loudly as he let it fall on his plate.

“Fuck, Adam, I don’t fucking know!”

Adam looked down at his plate, full of deliciously-looking chicken and rice.

“Sorry. I’m sorry, I’m just worried. You’re right.” He took a bite. “This is good.”

Ronan sighed and ran a hand over his shaved head.

“He can text us, or ask Amina to call us, if something happens,” Ronan said. Adam nodded, because of course he knew that.

“It’s not that I don’t trust him—” he began.

“I know. I get it. He needs to go out though,” Ronan said.

Adam moved his stool until he was just next to Ronan, and brought his plate over. It wasn’t the most comfortable position to eat, but he got to lay his head on Ronan’s shoulder for a moment and it helped ease his anxiety. Ronan didn’t tell him to move over, so he wasn’t mad at him.

He took a deep breath.

“Yes. You’re right, and I’m not being helpful. I’m not very good at this parenting thing yet,” he admitted, nose pressed to Ronan’s hoodie.

“Shut the hell up. You’re doing great. Next time, I’ll remember to ask him where his friends live, okay?” Ronan pressed a light kiss to the top of Adam’s head, and it made the world a better place.

“Okay.”

“So.” Ronan cleared his throat, and Adam forced himself to get back to his food before it became cold. “How was your day, apart from getting puked on?”

Adam groaned, because he had already managed to forget that part. And proceeded to tell Ronan all about the stomach bug that had ruined his shoes.

Harvey didn’t text them while they were eating, nor for a full hour afterwards. Ronan put on a movie to distract them from the passage of time, but they paused fifteen minutes in when Matthew called. Adam was left to browse through his messaging app while Ronan talked to his brother, ignoring the bouncing of his leg at the lack of news.

“Matthew said hi,” Ronan informed, when he came back to the couch.

Adam nodded.

“I’m gonna call him,” he said, meaning Harvey. And he did, but it didn’t connect. “Fuck, Ronan.”

“Okay, okay. Hm. Fifteen more minutes, and we go out to look for him, okay?”

“Yes. Okay. I’m gonna put on some shoes.”

“Right. Me too.”

They were scrambling the shoe rack when the bell rang.

Adam was the first one to reach the main door, fully expecting it to be a police officer telling him there had been an accident, or something of the sort.

It wasn’t a police officer.

“Harvey!” Adam exclaimed. He rushed to get him inside, so he could inspect him by the hall lights.

“I didn’t hear a car,” Ronan said behind him. Adam hadn’t either, but he sometimes missed noises like that. He squinted past Harvey to the night outside, but he couldn’t make out any vehicle.

“Did Amina’s parents drop you at the end of the road?” Harvey seemed to be in one piece, if a little shivery. He was wearing his new coat, but he supposed it was chilly outside. “You could’ve texted us. Actually, you _should_ have texted us. We were worried.”

Harvey shrugged. He didn’t make any move to take his coat off, or to come to the living room, where it was warmer.

“What’s wrong?” Adam asked, but Harvey only shook his head.

“What did you have for dinner?” Ronan asked. “Did you tell them about the gluten thing?”

Harvey shrugged again. He wasn’t meeting their eyes.

Adam took him by his coat sleeve and gently brought him to the armchair just in front of the fire. He kneeled on the carpet in front of him.

“Harvey,” he said. He made sure his voice came out soft, but it still made Harvey flinch.

“It’s fine, you know?” Ronan said, also coming to sit in front of the fire. He was carrying a sealed bag of starch marshmallows, that he promptly started spearing on skewer sticks. “We’re not mad. Just want to know how your evening went.” He gave one stick to Harvey, who took it with a slightly trembling hand. Adam was given another stick.

When the first batch of marshmallows were roasted and eaten, at Ronan’s insistence, Harvey finally took his phone out of his pocket.

He gave it to Adam without writing anything, only for Adam to find out it was off. He tried turning it on, but the screen didn’t become alive.

“You ran out of battery?” he asked. Harvey nodded, and took the next stick.

Adam gave him his own phone.

_aminas dad couldn’t give me a ride. i said it was ok but then my phone died so I couldnt text u. i came walking but got lost_

Adam passed the phone to Ronan so he could read it too.

“Did you have dinner at Amina’s?” he asked. Harvey shook his head. “Okay. Those are done now,” Ronan said, meaning the marshmallows. “Let’s move this to the kitchen, then.”

He went to reheat what was left from dinner while Adam went in search of a charger to plug Harvey’s phone in. Harvey made to give Adam his own phone back, once he’d left his coat in the mudroom, but Adam shook his head.

“Are you warm now?” he asked. Harvey nodded, a bit too eagerly.

Adam followed him to the kitchen.

 _sorry i was late_ , was the first message. Adam smiled at him, in what he hoped was a reassuring gesture, and sat in front of him.

He figured it wasn’t very calming for Harvey, having both Adam and Ronan looking at him anxiously as he ate, but he wasn’t sure he knew how to avert his gaze. He didn’t think Ronan would fill the silence, so he retold his day to provide a distraction and a sense of normalcy.

Until he ran out of incidents of puking little girls to tell, and Harvey ran out of yogurt to eat, and Ronan ran out of patience.

“This can’t happen again,” Ronan said. Harvey nodded, looking down at his now empty plate. “Next time you’re at a friends’ house and they can’t give you a lift, you make them call us before you leave their place. Got it?” Harvey nodded again, and Ronan sighed. “We’re also gonna buy you a portable charger, or something.”

Harvey lifted his head, and he looked surprised. Adam’s heart clenched when he realized he was waiting for a punishment to come.

“Harvey,” he said, very softly. “Was it frightening, being outside at night, all alone?” he asked.

Harvey looked at him. Big, brown eyes searching for something in Adam’s face, until they crumpled and started spurting fat tears. Ronan was closer to him, so he was the first one to reach out to embrace him. Adam circled the kitchen island so that he was just in front of them.

“It’s fine, now,” he said, and very slowly brought a finger to Harvey’s cheek, to wipe his tears. Harvey leaned onto his hand, without leaving Ronan’s arms, when he realized Adam wasn’t going to hurt him. “You’re home, and it’s fine, and we’re very happy you’re okay.”

After his sobs calmed down, Harvey reached for Adam’s phone.

 _Its bc i cant speak_ , he typed.

“How so?” Adam asked, bringing his stool to sit down.

 _i couldnt ask ppl for directions_. Harvey showed them the message, and began typing again. He took some time, erasing what he’d written and starting again, but Adam and Ronan waited patiently. _why arent you mad that i cant speak???_

“What?” Adam said, after reading. “Are _you_ mad that you can’t?”

Harvey shrugged, what Adam was pretty sure meant he was.

“It’s no big deal, kid. You speak to us with your phone. We’ve got it figured out,” Ronan said.

“It doesn’t bother us,” Adam reassured him, “but if it bothers _you_ , we could try some things?”

_what things?_

“Speech therapy. Or regular therapy, too—there’s actually nothing wrong with your vocal cords so whatever’s preventing you from speaking is probably in here,” Adam said, gently touching Harvey’s temple.

_so i’m nuts_

Ronan snorted. “You’re just fine, Harvey. It’s just your mind doesn’t know how to deal with stuff, and it’s chosen this to cope. It’s really no big deal.”

“We could also learn ASL,” Adam supplied.

_what is it?_

“Sign language.”

“Think about it,” Ronan said. “We could curse other people just in front of their faces and they’d never know.” Harvey ‘s lips curved.

“ _Ronan_ ,” Adam said, because he was all in for making Harvey smile, but they should also not encourage him to curse other people.

“We could curse in front of the kids and Declan could not complain!”

Adam rested his chin on his hand and looked at Ronan through his eyelashes.

“If you do that, I’ll teach Declan _every single_ curse word existent in ASL. Also, Harvey’s a kid too, so keep the cursing to a minimum.”

 _i dont mind the cursing,_ Harvey said.

“Well, I _do_ ,” Adam said. “And there’s school tomorrow, so why don’t you go have a warm bath before bed?”

Harvey nodded, and strolled out of the kitchen.

Adam put his plate away in the sink.

“For real, though.” Ronan’s chin came to rest on Adam’s shoulder. “Should we seriously think about therapy?”

Adam sighed, as Ronan’s arms circled him from behind.

“I’m not sure. I don’t want to overwhelm him, but maybe he could benefit from it. What do you think?”

“No fucking clue.”

“Right. We could think about it. Just not tonight, okay?” Adam turned, so his mouth could come into contact with Ronan’s.

They heard the water starting in the upstairs bathroom.

Adam’s phone rang once, signaling an incoming message.

It was from Harvey.

_my stomach hasnt hurt all day_

Another text came through while he was showing Ronan.

_i’ll try therapy if u think it’ll work_

_goodnight Adam_

**Author's Note:**

> Title from a haiku by Kobayashi Issa: Alone he cries / the motherless bird. / Autumn dusk.
> 
> I'd love to read what you thought about this one, or if you have headcanons or things you'd like to see in this verse! You can leave a comment or reach me [on tumblr.](https://hklnvgl.tumblr.com/)


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